Analysis of choice of court agreements in Nigeria in the Year 2020

In Nigeria, valid commercial contracts between parties are treated as sacrosanct and binding by Nigerian courts. It is however uncertain (unlike in the European Union) whether a valid foreign choice of court agreement, which is a term of the parties’ contract, will be enforced by Nigerian courts. In this connection, the decisions of Nigerian courts are not consistent. Nigerian courts have applied three approaches to the enforcement of foreign choice of court agreements – ouster clause, Brandon tests, and the strict contractual approach. The article analyses the approach of the Nigerian appellate courts on the enforcement of foreign choice of court agreements in light of three Court of Appeal decisions delivered in the year 2020.